I’ve been wrestling with how to make improvements to WUWT for a few months, considering different options such as trying out the WordPress Enterprise that I was invited into last year (which didn’t really pay for itself as many of the options didn’t work as advertised), and looking at different themes. With a website that is working well, it is always a risk making improvements because sometimes “improvements” have unintended consequences.
But, learning from our users, I’ve decided to make a small change, which is entirely reversible; here it is.
What I’ve learned from readers, both in watching the comment flow and in reading emails is that due to the volume of topics covered at WUWT, with typically 6-8 stories a day, is that some popular stories that are still active with debate, often disappear from the front page quickly.
This has to do with screen real estate. As you know, we like to make big graphs and images here in essays, such as some of the splendid graphs Willis Eschenbach produces. I’ve always felt that these large format graphics help people understand the concepts better., But they often hog the front page if they are part of the story introduction.
So I’ve come up with what I think is a good compromise that will keep interesting stories on the front page longer (where people can find them) before they scroll off the page. It will also help WUWT load faster overall.
I’m going to a capsule format on the front page. This means small sample graphics coupled with a short introduction paragraph. It gives the reader a quick overview, and if they are interested, they click through, if not, they scroll past to see other stories.
Here is a before and after view of the front page of WUWT. The numbers represent stories:
As you can see, with the new encapsulated format, I’ve been able to effectively double the number of stories in the same column space, going from about 2.5 stories visible before (story 3 is cutoff) to 5 stories afterwards.
Because of that, I’ve also been able to increase the number of stories loaded on the front page from about 15 to 25 or more before the “load more” button appears.
This change should also improve the experience for people reading WUWT on phones and tablets where a lot of scrolling was previously required to navigate the front page.
For guest authors, please note this new format. Try to make a short introductory paragraph followed by the body of your post. I’ll handle adding appropriate thumbnails where I can, drawing either from the article or our stock of clip art and previously used but relevant images.
[Added: And, there’s a new header and a slight font tweak too. If you need the font to be bigger, press CTRL+ Mouse Control Wheel forward/backwards to change size. Ctrl-Zero resets.]
While I know change isn’t always welcome, I hope this one will be an improvement for everyone.
And for those of you that don’t have a Twitter account yet, get one.
It is the easiest and most effective way to speak directly to many of the people we cover in stories and ask them questions. WUWT has reached over ten thousand followers now, and I welcome you to take part in this. https://twitter.com/wattsupwiththat
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Love it.
Another very popular web site that is clearly managed by one person is wimp.com. It is ranked 420 by Alexa in the USA and 1100th worldwide.
It posts 6 links a day. That is all. Yet it gets enormous traffic.
The key, IMO, to WUWT’s success, has been the content. The content is reliably informative. Whatever means to tap into high quality content and reduce the daily workload for AW will ultimately keep WUWT a persistent presence on the web.
You don’t need twitter. Twitter needs you to drive their traffic. Your blog is so utterly different and serves such a broad range of the public, they need you to increase their reach.
Content is the key. If you have great content, which you do, people will come, like drudge and like wimp. Do that without the staff of the NYT and you win.
WUWT says, “Actually, Twitter has value in that you can use it to expose people to stories here that they might not otherwise look at. The effect can grow exponentially via re-tweets. Being on Twitter and sharing stories with others is in fact valuable.”
Tweeting is a gift. In so few characters, lots of us could come off as…rude (: I like people who are gifted at tweeting.
Did you know you can go to a twitter page and read up without joining? You may join the fun later.
https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage
https://twitter.com/EcoSenseNow***
***Caveat: Moore does good work in Agriculture but sees Nuclear as a murder weapon for coal – and promotes Common Core. With people, you give some and you take some.
Never have been fond of the “capsule format.” It may work out for blogs with a dozens of stories a day though.
As for page load, that was important before high speed internet, but most connections will see little difference between loading a page with and without images.
However this is still the best climate blog and I will continue to read it regardless of format.
Well if there was a change, I haven’t noticed it, so it must be good.
As for twitter, I take it that is the comparative form of “twit”. But if anybody can rip off the gullible public, for the best part of a billion dollars, with such juvenile claptrap, on just the first day of trading, then they are probably doing a public service.
I don’t pad / ped / pid / pod / pud / whatever, and I have better things to do than waste time social “networking ” with a host of people, who probably wouldn’t like me, if they ever met me.
On my T&V ATT Uverse, I must have at least 900 channels, in the 1-999 range. With a 26 inch tv, I don’t need more numbers than that. I can step my remote control through all of those channels, and it will tell me what the currently showing program is for the half hour, hour or whatever. When I do that, the current program is almost never showing on my screen. Something else quite unrelated is on the screen; probably an ad for something or somebody. Well it gets two seconds maximum to prove it really is the currently scheduled program, and then I’m gone to the next channel. If it clearly is an ad, then it gets noted as one more place to not shop for anything. My favorite talk radio program, is almost never on, because they sponsor some of the stupidest inane ads I have ever heard, so I turn the sound off. I certainly would never seek out any of their advertisers to do business with.
And so far, I have not spent a dime on any of the popups on WUWT, so you must be doing it correctly Anthony. I can buy anything I want, in a store, and I can choose whether to go in there or not. I am never going to buy anything that is not on a shelf in a store near me. So “not available in any store” is a great way to sell me nothing.
The best blog in the world……. but there is still potential to get better:>))
I’d like to see a posting and the corresponding answers to be expanded by an addional click.
Unwarranted ??
Here are the Merriam-Webster definitions.
1) not needed by the circumstances or to accomplish an end
2) having no basis in reason or fact
==========
Someone is selling themselves short.
Onward !!
Twitter- no thanks.
Excellent improvement.
You’ve made it much easier to share (post elsewhere) multiple stories.
I have in the past reduced your lead in and now you will have them all ready to go.
Small changes here and there are better than large changes.
I like it. From what you said it adds to the site without making the it seem unfamiliar to regulars.
The thing I’d like to see, if it’s possible with WordPress, would be the date and time of the last comment appear next to the number of comments that is displayed at the bottom of each post.
A way to punch people over the internet. I dunno if it should use TCP or UDP, but it should be done.
Like the new format – especially if concise executive summary exists.
But twitter I not — I have twitterphobia!
I agree with Anthony on the advantage of twittering about what goes on here at the blog. But just because lots of people like hubbard squash and hubbard squash is good for you, does not mean I will be eating it. Twitter away.
Change is good!
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Keith DeHavelle says:
May 18, 2014 at 8:10 am
Now, instantly, a sound ad deploys on us”
My inexpensive keyboard has a mute key. Mute is my default.
I have a calculator open. If an ad is visually distracting I move the calculator over it.
I only have a standard computer to work from; no smart phone or mobile device so issues with those I do not have.
Most reasonable improvement – I like it.
However,
Robert in Calgary says:
May 18, 2014 at 8:05 am
If possible, I would love it if “Recent Comments” could be moved up higher on the sidebar.
REPLY: It only shows ten, and I don’t see it as being all that useful, since they go by quickly. But why is it useful to you? Anthony
I often check the “Recent Comments” section and agree it would be handier if it were higher on the sidebar.
I feel it shows which of the topics are still getting new comments although it would be more useful if it showed more than just the last 10.
Like the new format.
Incremental change is a good way to to test anything…
Try nested (threaded) comments next, please?
@Stark Dickflüssig says:
May 18, 2014 at 11:13 am
A way to punch people over the internet.
Massive amounts of targeted ads are a good start 🙂
Perhaps the new format will help in keeping stories fresh for longer as the sheer volume of new stories means older articles rapidly progress down the board. Personally I would be happy with fewer stories each day but appreciate that there are a huge number of topics to cover and by ringing the changes readers will always find something of interest to them.
Tonyb
I like the new format. Still very readable.
I don’t know about others, but I find this font harder to read. The vertical rises on “I”, “l”, “k”, “n” and some other letters are thicker than on “t” and “f” and some other letters. Is this a setting on my computer, perhaps?
I’m surprised you didn’t do this long ago.
Anthony,
The biggest problem with WordPress are the widgets. 3rd party hacks which expose site problems.
Your site draws amazing traffic, consider co-branding the site with a service provider. Your site can then dump the ads and you’ll benefit from traffic to their services. Its a clean idea that has nothing to do with Big Oil ; )
It will also get you extremely high rates of access, nearly unlimited storage, dedicated services, and support for coding. Coding a website isn’t tough if you have the time but you don’t at 6 articles etc. a day. Coding the site can also deliver a far more engaging UI as well as other fun options other users can then buy into.
Leverage what you’ve got to deliver and let them “keep the light on for you” ; )
REPLY: Thanks, but…no and hell no. I don’t have enough time to be a server jockey, as Lucia does, tweaking scripts and figuring out who’s running the latest attack bot. Lots of people would try to take down WUWT if they knew it was privately hosted. WordPress.com does all that for me and keeps the site secure with all the bandwidth I’d ever want. This is why we moved Climate Audit to wordpress.com after Climategate. – Anthony
This site needs a new comment system.
I like the change for the topics. Not sure if I’d change the comment system as others have suggested. The nesting or thread model can be cool. But with the amount of traffic here, it would quickly get to the highest nesting level and stay there making the nesting pointless.